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The first page of the Funeral service for reading quietly beforehand - says:
'God's love and power extend over all creation. Every life, including our own, is precious to God. Christians have always believed that there is hope in death as in life, and that there is new life in Christ after death.'
For all involved, a funeral service may raise profound personal questions about the meaning of life and death. Christians believe that Christ's death and resurrection are the triumph of good over evil and of life over death and have opened the gate to eternal life for us.
Most Christians would describe hell as separation from the love of God. The separation is never what God wants, it is our own responsibility. Heaven, on the other hand, is about knowing and delighting in the presence and love of God and of the whole company of heaven. Whatever is wonderful about life here on earth is only a glimpse of the life that is to come.
There may not be much time around the funeral to reflect on these things, but make space later on to come back to them. Parish clergy and others involved in the service will be glad to offer help in thinking through how you have been affected personally.
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